Showa Shell Aims for 50-B.-Yen Profit in Solar Panel Biz

Tokyo, May 26 (Jiji Press)--Major Japanese oil company Showa Shell
Sekiyu K.K. <5002> said Tuesday it will aim for a recurring profit of 50
billion yen in the solar panel business in 2014, up from zero at present.

Announcing its five-year business program, Showa Shell also set an
overall recurring profit target of 100 billion yen for the same year, which
includes a profit of 50 billion yen from the mainstay oil business when
inventory valuation gains or losses are counted out, it said.
In the business year that ended in December 2008, the company
logged a recurring profit of 45,697 million yen excluding oil inventory
appraisal losses.
The company plans to develop solar panel production into a core
business in the coming years, as demand for gasoline and other oil products
is declining, company officials said.
Showa Shell currently produces 80 megawatts of solar panels per
year at two plants in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Miyazaki. It
plans to boost the output to around 1,000 megawatts to gain a 10 pct global
market share, it said.

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